Closing the Gap
by Abyssopelagic
Summary: It wasn't really his fault, that they'd managed to keep out of touch for a whole school year. These things happened. It didn't stop him from feeling bad about it, though.


_A/N: Hi there! This is a oneshot for the Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction contest, of the Wishshipping variety. Well, of the very fluffy, bromantic Wishshipping variety. I hope you enjoy it – it was enjoyable to write, and to explore another side of Yugi. Cheers!_

/

Yugi tipped his chair back, resting his feet precariously on the edge of the desk. A year ago, he wouldn't have believed it, but the message on his computer had come as a surprise.

w_hat r u doing on saturday?_

He had long gotten used to his best friend's refusal to type correctly online.

It made some sense that they hadn't had much time to talk. On their last day at Domino High, they'd shaken hands on a pact – they'd make plans as often as they could, even if Yugi's university was a substantial drive away.

"Friends 'til the end, Yug," Joey had said, grinning down at him and clasping his friend's hand tightly. "You know where I'll be." The image of him from that day was still vivid in Yugi's mind. A rumpled graduation gown, his cap thrown somewhere several minutes before. His hair messy and his eyes bright with the excitement of the day.

Yugi had been happy to agree. "I'll see you every week, if I can help it!"

They'd gone their separate ways that day counting on it. Joey to spend most of the vacation with Serenity, while he saved up for the down payment on his new place; Yugi went home, to spend a quiet summer working in the shop before he tackled his Egyptology degree.

They didn't see much of each other that summer, and communication all but dropped when they both moved away. Between both their classes (Joey had, in the end, picked up some college courses on top of work – never mind what his mother had pressed about higher education), part-time jobs, family obligations, and no money for travel ... it just hadn't happened. Yugi had been ashamed the day he'd put down a textbook and realized it had been months (_months!_) since he said two words to his old friends.

Sometimes he wondered what his other self would've thought. Maybe he would have understood. But he wouldn't have approved.

Now it was summer again, and Yugi was sitting at his old desk. His eyes were on the message that had popped up on his screen, and he was trying to decipher this unfortunate mix of guilt and his lifted mood.

_Nope. You in town?_

_been way too long, man. i'll meet u in the square at 10_

_It really has. See you then._

He heard Grandpa call him then, so he typed a quick goodbye and got up, to see what he'd forgotten to do. When he'd emptied the dishwasher and put out the recycling, he came back upstairs, but Joey had logged off too.

Yugi glanced at the picture on his desk, from their graduation day. Joey had an arm around his shoulders, and they both sported wide grins and peace signs for the photographer – Tristan, if he remembered correctly. The two of them looked like they'd never be apart. Such was the logic of high school.

Maybe they could've kept in touch better. Gotten together for a duel or two. Yugi ignored the guilt gnawing at him, for not trying to contact him again after the first few tries early in the semester. It wasn't really either of their faults. Still, he couldn't help but imagine that a rift had opened up between them. A small one, that could hopefully be mended, but a sizable fissure nonetheless.

Yugi sighed, running a hand through his hair. No reason to fret about it until it happened, after all. After what they'd seen and done together, he doubted that they would run into problems.

He fell asleep that night looking over his deck, going over the combinations that reminded him the most of Joey. There were more than he'd first thought.

But that wasn't surprising. They _were _best friends.

/

Joey was late, of course.

It was fortunate that Yugi was patient by nature, because it was almost ten-thirty when he looked up at the sound of another bus.

A familiar young man with messy blonde hair jumped off the steps, and he ignored the reproving shout from the bus driver. He saw Yugi as soon as he turned around, his eyes lighting up when he caught sight of him several yards away.

This was also unsurprising – Yugi knew he wasn't hard to miss. He broke into a grin, and put his book aside to stand up, waving. In the back of his mind, he was wondering why he hadn't also broken into a run, to greet Joey before he even made it to their meeting place. But he ignored the thought..

"Hey, Yug! Long time no see, man!"

It shouldn't have mattered anyway, because before he knew it, Yugi was laughing with his friend, Joey's hand slapping down on his shoulder and the other clasping Yugi's for a moment.

"Tell me about it!" Yugi replied, carefully stepping out of the embrace. Yugi was taller then he had been, but Joey's exuberant greetings could still be fairly stifling. "I'm glad you caught me online the other day, so we could hang out."

He didn't mention the times he could've contacted Joey, where looking back, there hadn't been _that _much homework, the holidays where he'd been distracted by family and preparations ... from the outside looking in, these would seem like legitimate excuses. But the guilt gnawing at the back of Yugi's mind was bothering him, no matter how logically he thought over all this.

But he didn't bring it up, of course. Falling into step beside his friend, he kept the smile on his face and listened to Joey's steady stream of chatter. He didn't seem bothered at all by how hard Yugi had been to reach over the semesters. Which was impressive, considering that Yugi was just now realizing how lonely he really had been, now that he had spent a year away from the people he cared about.

There weren't many people milling around the square today. Clouds were gathering and rain seemed a real possibility. The two boys took little more than a passing notice.

"Shoulda brought an umbrella."

"It isn't raining _yet_, Joey."

"Well, if it starts, where do we go? KaibaCorp?"

They were passing the familiar skyscraper now, but it was Saturday. The majority of employees likely weren't there. Kaiba, of course, was probably in his office. Yugi couldn't help but laugh when Joey flipped one off in the direction of that infamous office. He only hoped the CEO himself wasn't watching, or their day out might be caught short.

They spent awhile just window shopping and talking. Well, Joey did most of the latter, really. Yugi found himself lost in thought, unhappy that he couldn't bring himself to speak up more, but worried that when he did, they'd get onto the topic of why they'd drifted apart.

Why did he feel so _bad_?

Almost an hour later, they'd finally settled into a kind of companionable silence. There was something there, that Yugi couldn't quite decipher, but he could feel it hanging between them. He was sure Joey could too, as he watched his companion sip at his smoothie.

They were passing the pier when Joey looked down, and tapped Yugi on the shoulder. "Hey, Yug."

The other boy looked up in surprise.

"You alright today? You've been kinda quiet." Joey's brow was furrowed, and Yugi caught a look of concern in his eyes.

Yugi smiled nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah! 'Course."

"Alright." Joey looked out across the harbour, absentmindedly tossing his smoothie into a nearby bin and stuffing his hands in his pockets. The two of them were cast in the shadow of one of the large cargo ships that had docked earlier that day, and they spent a moment watching the crates be unloaded. From all over the world, coming together for a moment only to be sent apart again.

They had to give up on the walk when the rain started to fall. An almost two-week heat wave broken, and Joey swore and covered his hair with his hands.

"Shoot, Yug, told you we needed an umbrella."

"I know," Yugi replied, a little irritably, "let's go in there. We can wait it out." There was a small coffee shop up the street, and the two of them ducked into it. Rain was falling hard against the windowpanes when they took their seats. It didn't look like it was going to be letting up.

Joey stretched, yawning loudly. "So are you gonna tell me what's up?" 

"What?"

Yugi found himself under a long, thoughtful look. "You've been awfully quiet, considering it's been eight months since I've seen ya. Something wrong?"

He shrugged. "Of course not. What would be wrong?"

Joey frowned, gently shaking Yugi's shoulder. "Come _on_. If something's botherin' you, I wanna know. Spill it."

Yugi rested his chin in his hands, carefully keeping his gaze on the road outside. "I kind of screwed up. I should've kept in better touch. I haven't seen you in _months_."

Joey was quiet for another long moment, his eyebrows raised. Then he broke into a grin, throwing an arm around Yugi's shoulder and pulling him in. Yugi squeaked, and the barista glared at them both.

"Yug, buddy! That's on both of us. Maybe we coulda been better at keeping in touch, yeah, but what can we do?" He loosened his grip, but his arm stayed around Yugi's shoulders. "We're making up for it now, aren't we?"

"I guess ... there were a lot of times I _could _have called, though. At least tried to. Or come down to Domino and looked you up." He sighed. "Nothing was even in the way. I shouldn't treat my friends like that."

There it was. He knew it was something that wasn't really a problem, that Joey, or Tristan or anyone else didn't mind his absence. They missed him, sure, but they knew it wasn't his fault. The logical part of his mind, however, was being overruled by the pained, emotional one.

Joey shook his head. "Tristan's in police academy, Téa's in New York, and I worked nights for five months. Nobody's really been doing a good job at keepin' in touch, so nobody blames you. Since when have you screwed up on the whole friendship thing? Ever?" Joey's tone was lighthearted, and he was still grinning. It was infectious. Yugi smiled faintly.

"You're very forgiving."

"What's there to forgive? I actually hold a really good grudge, when I have to."

Yugi grinned, finally slipping out from under Joey's arm and setting his elbows on the table again. "I remember. You sure you're not gonna be unhappy with me, that we didn't bother to get together?"

"No point. We're here now, right? Let's enjoy it. Pharaoh would've told ya the same thing."

That stung, a little. But Joey didn't realize that, so Yugi didn't bring it up. "You're right. I'll try to stop worrying about it." He heard a loud cough behind them, turning to see the owner of the shop still looking daggers at the two. "...And maybe buy something, before we get kicked onto the curb."

The owner folded her arms, and Joey gave an exaggerated sigh, getting up. "Probably. I remember this place has great doughnuts."

"Get me a chocolate one?"

"Get it yourself! Lazy ass."

Yugi laughed, relenting and following him to the counter. It was still in the back of his mind, that maybe he'd been a bad friend. But he'd ignore it, because clearly Joey wasn't bothered in the least.

The gap, at least, seemed to have closed.


End file.
